“I am nothing. Nothing.” Thought the voice that wasn’t quite Shinzu’s. Gritting and grinding his teeth back and forth, Shinzu realised that he wouldn’t be able to ignore the voice through sheer will power alone. In certain situations, it seemed possible. Especially when surrounded by his family within Sabertooth’s welcoming guild hall. However, out in the open, the other voice simply had too much ammunition to play with. “Tch.” Shoving the mission scroll back into his pocket, Shinzu abruptly snapped his neck to the side where he could sense the lingering gaze of… someone. However, upon turning, he saw no one. Just a simple empty night-time street illuminated by torches and Lacrima technology. Sighing, he realised his mind was playing tricks on him again. Not his own mind, but that other mind that was born the moment he had started toying with Slayer magic all those many moons ago.

“Focus.” Shinzu told himself, as his cobalt-blue eyes scanned the empty streets. He was currently in the market area of Shirotsume. An absolutely deserted and barren market, as one may expect due to the late hour. Frowning, he headed deeper into the heart of the town, where he followed the faint sound of music and people cheering. The aptly named ‘drunkard’ tended to prey on victims within bars after a long night of drinking. It stood to reason that the best time to find him would be during the late hours of the night, when only the die-hard partiers could be found loitering around the various bars in town. With any luck, all Shinzu would need to do was follow the chaos and screaming. However, there was a grave flaw to that plan. The sound of drunkards cheering seemed to sound exactly the same as people crying for help – which made it difficult to determine where to go.

“Useless. I am useless.” Said the voice. Startled, Shinzu glanced around rapidly. It was one of the rare few times that the voice didn’t seem to come from the confines of his mind, but rather, from behind him. There was no way that could have been possible of course. However, not even a brave fool such as Shinzu could resist the urge to check that his inner demon hadn’t somehow found a way to manifest into the real world. “Shut. Up.” He whispered to himself, while picking a random bar in the distance and making his way towards it. If he couldn’t pinpoint where to go, then he’d simply have to visit all of them. He may have lacked wit and planning. However, not even his inner demon could fault Shinzu’s determination and sheer force of will. It was no longer a question of if the target would be found. It was just a simple case of when.

Ordered to leave the premises, Shinzu took the hint and used the opportunity to crawl away from the guard before pulling himself off the damp and dirty ground. Thanks to recent rainfall, his clothes were now stained and a shade darker. “My apologies.” He said while reaching into his pocket once more. The action startled the guard again and pulled him into a defensive stance. He knew then at that moment that the guard was likely expecting a knife or some sort of projectile. However, all that would be clutched in Shinzu’s hand would be a crumpled pierce of paper. Balling it in his fist, he tossed the mission scroll at the guard, with enough speed and force to harmlessly strike the man's oversized forehead. “Your problem now.” He said while walking away from the scene. By now, several drunken bystanders had spotted the interaction. No doubt rumour would spread by morning and Shinzu would once again have to deal with the tattered mess that was his reputation.

“If I kill them all, then word won’t reach the guild.” Said the suggestible voice in Shinzu’s mind. Sighing again, he hoped the long and exaggerated exhale would be enough to clear his mind. It wasn’t. “Kill them all.” Said the commanding voice. “No one cares about me anyway.” Thought a voice, that Shinzu was uncertain was his or another’s. “I’m actually losing it.” He muttered out loud, to remind himself what his voice sounded like. Unsure where he was going, Shinzu simply wandered aimlessly while feeling a sharp burning sensation flaring in his stomach and the side of his face with each step forwards. Before long, he reached a tiny circular park surrounded by buildings. Along the circumference of the grassy park, he spotted four benches. At last, some luck.

Dragging his aching body towards one of the benches on the far end of the park, he sat down with a view of the road he had just walked down in case anyone was following him. It was rare, but at times, do-gooders tended to misread any situation he was involved in and took it upon themselves to strike down with the full might of ‘justice’. Those were the worst. Usually not even mages and just ordinary civilians, Shinzu knew not to do anything or even defend himself. If he fought back, it would only provoke more harm. If he actually won, word would spread like wildfire the next morning. Not of a mage defending himself against a unprovoked attack without even using any magic – but of a cruel and evil mage attacking a innocent bystander for no reason. Such was the way the world worked. "...I really don't belong here..."

The world around Shinzu seemed to blur at that moment as he raced along a winding street that lead towards the darker and shadier parts of the town. It was towards this location, that his keen sense of hearing caught the faint sound of musical instruments and booing in the air. He realised in those precious few moments of running at top speed that it made sense now. How could his target – the infamous late-night brawler – have caused so much damage to the town and worked up such a reputation, without anyone having caught him yet? The answer had been starring Shinzu in the face all along.

Skidding to a halt, the act of which spraying his trousers in water from the puddles of collected rainwater along his path, Shinzu eyed the surroundings while panting. All this running had exhausted him and depleted his stamina. “How very human of me.” He thought to himself with a smile that parted slightly to allow his lungs to beg for precious oxygen. The more luxurious and well-established bars were padded with security and too densely populated with onlookers. There was no way someone could start a brawl inside one of them and then simply walk away a free man. In contrast, the seediest of the bars in the town were desolate and quiet. Spectators were at a minimum, and most probably wouldn’t want to speak to law enforcement even if they did fall prey to the infamous late-night brawler. Not when risking Rune Knights potentially unearthing even graver secrets about their shady lifestyles.

It all begun to make sense in Shinzu’s head. He had wasted time visiting the bar earlier. He needed to visit the dingiest and rundown bar he could find in the more remote parts of the town. To do that, all he needed to do was to follow the music and booing. While famous and talented singers often frequented the more well-established bars, the cheaper variety that lacked a frequent customer base probably couldn’t afford much more than utter novices and singers in training. Follow the booing, and eventually, he’d find what he was looking for. That was something he was willing to bet on.